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ANWR = Truly Undisturbed Wilderness = Unrec'overed Oil Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is one of the last places on earth where a continuous expanse of arctic and subarctic ecosystems remain protected and intact. ยท This region was first officially recognized in 1960 when President Eisenhower established 8.9 million acres as protected wilderness in northeastern Alaska and called it the Arctic National Wildlife Range. Twenty years later, President Jimmy Carter signed into law the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA). This doubled the size of the Arctic Range and renamed it the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Wildland designated as a "refuge" means that the wildlife and resources are protected as specifically described by Congress, but that certain development activities may be permitted if they are compatible with the purpose of the designation. Land designated as a " national park," on the other hand, is protected from all commercial and development activities. In the case of ANWR, it fell under the purpose behind designating land as a refuge, as set out by Congress in ANILCA, to protect fish and wildlife in their natural habitats. But in addition to hosting an abundance of wildlife, ANWR has been found to contain oil. In fact, some drilling advocates believe that it is the largest untapped oil reserve in the USA. The Bush Administration favors drilling there and some oil advocates are currently lobbying for permission to drill in the 1.5-million- acre Coastal Plain, located between the peaks of the Brooks Range and the shores of the Arctic Ocean . The Coastal Plain is the only fragment of America's arctic coastline not already opened to oil exploration and drilling. Right now, ANWR is out of bounds to drilling unless Congress affirmatively opens it. But at the heart of this debate is the fact that ANILCA (section 1002 of the bill ) allows for one-time, noninvasive exploration in the Coastal Plain. This exploration happened in the 1980s. But another section of the legislation closes the Coastal Plain to oil and gas exploration unless Congress specifically opens it. Today's political battle begins here. Whether to protect this pristine ecosystem or whether to develop its natural resources is as old as the Refuge itself. We've compiled these facts for you to study and draw your own conclusions. Read on and learn more . SIZE MATTERS Total area of Alaska: 656,425 sq uare miles Total area of ANWR: 29,678 square miles Tota l protected landmass: 27,335 square miles Tota l area of MA, VT and NH combined: 29,52 1 sq uare miles Total landmass proposed for drilling: 3. 124 square miles OF MICE AND MEN: POPULATION Human: 225 Inuit Cari bou: 193,500 ANIMAL LIFE Total Number of species: over 200 Species of caribou: 4 (Central Arctic, Porcupine, named after Porcupine River, Western Arctic, Teshekpuk Lake) Insects: Mosquitoes, warble f lies and nose bot f lies Birds: rock and willow ptarmigan, ravens (in winter). gyrfalcons and snowy owls. Migrati ng birds: ducks, geese, shore birds, jaegers, gulls, tern s, songbirds and others. Other animals: Wolves, gri zzly bears, brown bears, polar bears and moose. THE TALE OF THE TAPE The pros and cons of dri lling in ANWR JOB CREATION PRO: The Teamsters Union believes ANWR drilling will create 700,000 jobs. JOB CREATION CON: A Congressional Study puts the number at 40,000. FOREIGN OIL DEPENDENCE PRO: 7.7 bi ll ion barre ls from ANWR would reduce need to import by the same amount. FOREIGN OIL DEPENDENCE CON: It will take 10 years to recover ANWR's oil. CARIBOU MOMS PRO: Currently give bi rth near tile toasty warmth of existing pipelines. CARIBOU MOMS CON: A spi ll when we dri ll and it's all over. ECO-FRIENDLY OIL MEN PRO: 25 years of catastrophe-free drilling on Alaska 's North Slore. ECO-FRIENDLY OIL MEN CON: Remember Va ldez. 55 - 2,480 square miles of the Amazon are destroyed every year by logging and development. - Saudi Arabia has infilled more than 40% of its coastline, wiping out half its mangroves due to oil exploration and drilling. , 1'\11[( n"'I~' 1\[; Comments and questions about the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge should be addressed to: Refuge Manager, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge 101 12th Avenue, Rm. 236, Fairbanks, AK 99701, arctic_refuge@fws.gov President of the United States The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 Comment line: 202-456-1111 Fax: 202-456-2461 president@whitehouse,gov Alaska Wilderness League: www.alaskawild.org Sierra Club ANWR websites: www.sierraclub.org/wildlands/arctic/ or www.sierraclub.org/wildlands/arctic/help.asp Greenpeace Arctic Action website: www.greenpeaceusa.org/arctic/arctic.htm HOW TO GO: ANWR is open to the public, no permits required. To get there, fly into Fai rbanks or Anchorage on Alaska Airlines (www.alaskaair.com), United (www.ual.com), Delta (www.delta.com) or Continental (www.continental.com). Then call the ANWR headquarters (907-456-0250). They will refer you to a local bush pilot who wil l fly you into the refuge. Photos e~:cerpted from The last Wlldernes5: ArctiC NCltional Wildlife Refuge, Kennan Ward. WtI::Ihght Press Inc. 2001. \.W/lov. kennamvard. com. MAP, MATTHEW DOWELL ,,-PO _ _ Pacific Ocean .. MAJOR OIL FIELDS ANWR NORTH SLOPE ARTie NATIONAL WILDLIfE REf USE TRANS .ALASKA PIPELINE WHERE ANWR FITS INTO THE WORLD ~rctic Ocean